Shock emplaced argon in a stony meteorite: 2. A comparison with natural argon in its diffusion

A sample of the Bjurböle chondrite was exposed to artificial shock in an argon atmosphere. The sample consisted of grayish-white powdery material with chondrules. This shock changed the material to fine-grained black and well-indurated rock, similar to a black chondrite. Subsequent analysis (see part 2 of this paper) showed that the shocked sample had incorporated considerable amounts of argon, most of which was retained even at high temperatures and was not released until the material was melted. These results support earlier suggestions that the irregular distribution of rare gases, as well as the light-dark structures in such meteorites as Pantar and Kapoeta, could have been caused by shock waves.